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Sheffield Floods Besides That In 1864?


JohnEBoy

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Whilst reading about the awful flood of 1864 recently, I saw a tantalising snippet that mentioned that there had been other large floods in Sheffield's long history?

I have looked on here and SF, as well as Google with all manner of word searches, but found nothing else? Or was that snippet inaccurate?

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Interesting question.

Depends on what constitutes a flood I suppose. There have been numerous instances of localised flooding over the years, but I wouldn't have thought these involved any loss of life or buildings swept away as in "The Flood"

Sometime in the eighties I was working in a building on Bridge Street. During the day, water rose to about a foot above road level but subsided later on. Hawleys Tyres was inundated, but fortunately for us next door, the ground level was just high enough to keep us dry.

A flood indeed you would say, but not something which would have made it much further than Look North or Calender I suppose.

As to what happened in the rest of the city I simply can't remember.

I also remember seeing water topping the pavements at Lowfields in the 70's

I've been Googling too, Not found anything yet.

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Some instances from the Sheffield Register, though all due to melting snow or excessive rainfall, none man-made. At least six dead though.

1768 Flood in the river Sheaf, which carried down the houses forming the North side of Talbot’s hospital, and drowned five of the pensioners. In 1770 the Duke of Norfolk endowed the Shrewsbury hospital with the sum of £1000, to repair the damage done by the 1768 flood and erect a larger and more commodious chapel.

August 17th 1797 Violent storm, A.M. “The rivers Sheaf and Dun were swelled to an amazing height; the flood of the former were so sudden and impetuous, that of two men who were getting sand, one was instantaneously swept away, and the other was with difficulty, saved” – Sheffield Iris

January 16th 1806 The highest floods in the river ever remembered; the high road between the Wicker and Bridgehouses completely overflowed.

September 8th 1809 A cloud descended precipitately on Crookes-moor, from whence the water rolled down through the intervening fields and gardens, bearing away walls, and ploughing up the soil, until it reached Young-street, on Sheffield-moor, where, after inundating the ground floors and cellars of the houses, the flood spent itself over the road and adjoining land. – Sheffield Mercury

19th July 1834 The lower part of the town inundated, and much damage done, owing to the excessive rain. From the Independent: “Messrs Vickers of Millsands had a great quantity of elves washed away, and Mr.Barton in the Wicker, had a quantity of groceries spoiled. In each case the damage could not be less than £100. The Rotherham road as far as Attercliffe bridge, was quite impassable on Saturday morning, and the coaches went round by the canal-side and on Blast-Furnace lane. Up the river Loxley, we believe that scarcely a bridge has been left, and much damage has been done to the works on all our rivers”

July 1839 Great flood nearly equal to that of the 19th July 1834. The wooden centres used in the erection of the North Midland Railway, over the Dun, carried down against the wooden bridge of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway with great force, but the shock was received without injury

6th April 1846 Melting snow and heavy rain, producing a great flood, that inundated the lower parts of the town

1849 Great flood in the valley of the Dun

2nd August 1856 Nearly two inches of rain fell within a few hours, causing very extensive and disastrous floods. At Middlewood, the water was 18 or 20 inches higher than in the great flood of 1834.

[i knew that elves were involved in shoemaking, but never seen them before with an involvement in the steel and iron industry. Hopefully they were rescued?] EDIT - ah! Helves "the handle of an ax, hatchet, hammer, or the like".

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There was also a flood in the early 1990's. I distinctly remember the Midland station was flooded as a result of the culverted sections of the Porter/Sheaf overflowing.

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Thanks, guys, that's great information.

I know that Shrewsbury hospital was moved in the 1820's due to flooding which killed a few pensioners.

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Sheffield Flooding .Aug 13 1856
The excessive rain which fell on Saturday resulted in the overflow of the Don to an alarming extent.
The houses and manufactories on the banks of the river were inundated by nine o'clock at night, and at half past twelve, when the flood reached it's height, many were filled up to the ceiling of the ground floor.
Along various streets and lanes, and the upper end of the Wicker, the current ran as though these streets were branches of the river.
At the works of Messrs.Chrichly, Wright, and Co., a strong brick and stone wall was carried away, and along with the gable end of one of the workshops.
At Newhall Gardens six boats were washed away and destroyed, and "The City of Constantinople" suffered considerably by the overflow of the portion of the river Don which, passing through grounds, had been made to do service as "the Bosphorus."
At the works of Messrs. Crowley and Pearson, portions of the stone embankment walls were washed away; and at the silver rolling mills of Messrs. Holdsworth the foundations of one of their steam engine chimneys were so far injured that the whole stack will have to come down.
Great number of bridges in and about the town have been wholly or partially washed away.
The Iron Girder bridge from Ball Street, which is supported on four stone piers, had one of these supports carried wholly away, and the danger to the whole bridge was so great that barricades were erected at both ends to stop traffic passing over.
The wood bridge at Beechy Wood Works, another at Storrs, a third at Little Matlock, a fourth at Middlewood, a stone bridge at Oughtibridge and another at Deepcar were all destroyed.
With the loss of the bridge at Deepcar the inhabitants of the district are cut off from communication with the station on the Manchester, Sheffield,and Lincolnshire line.
One of the wooden bridges was carried several miles down river, and then lodged on the buttresses of Lady's Bridge, at an elevation of 15 feet from the bed of the river and there it remains.
At Hill Foot, Neepsend, and other populous suburbs on the banks of the river Don, the inhabitants suffered very much from their houses being flooded.
The waters broke in upon them by nine o'clock, and before midnight their cellars were filled, and the rooms on the ground floors were three or four feet in water.
At Grove Row there was a fatal casualty in connection with the flood.
A man named Taylor got up at six o'clock on Sunday morning, and went out for the purpose of witnessing the state of the river; during his absence two of the children came downstairs, when one of them a girl about four years of age, in order to procure fuel to light the fire, went into the cellar, which, unknown to the family, was several feet deep in water. The child fell in and was drowned.
Many trees and several cows, pigs, &c, were washed down the stream, and at every available place parties were stationed fishing them out.
A sow was rescued from the river at Brightside, and half an hour afterwards presented its new owner with a litter of twelve young porkers.
This is remarked to have been the most severe flood known within the last twenty years.

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There was also a big flood in the 1870s around 75 I think. Remember reading there was some panic because general public were worried it was another dam breach. There was flooding all over similar to recent flooding.

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There was also a big flood in the 1870s around 75 I think. Remember reading there was some panic because general public were worried it was another dam breach. There was flooding all over similar to recent flooding.

October 1875

Brightside a foot deep, Rotherham station under six feet of water Kilnhurst station under 7 feet, confluence of the Don and Rother at Ickles depth 30 feet, between Holmes and Conisborough Don Valley is a fifteen mile lake.

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There was definitely a flood in 1973-possibly June.The paths in Endcliffe Park were flooded from the river and the force of water knocked a part of a wall down on Riverdale Road.

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With the Great Flood reaching its 150th anniversary, I was asked the other day about a Storm in August 1923 that hit Sheffield, it is mentioned in Hansard but I find it impossible to copy & paste the link for some reason. Has anyone else heard of this event?

Storm August 1923.txt

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With the Great Flood reaching its 150th anniversary, I was asked the other day about a Storm in August 1923 that hit Sheffield, it is mentioned in Hansard but I find it impossible to copy & paste the link for some reason. Has anyone else heard of this event?

1922?

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There was definitely a flood in 1973-possibly June.The paths in Endcliffe Park were flooded from the river and the force of water knocked a part of a wall down on Riverdale Road.

I remember that one. It was the beginning of July. We'd only moved into High Storrs a few days before. Apparently it was a depression that got stuck over south/west Sheffield and dropped a huge load of rain in a very short time. I particularly remember it as I drove over to Wisewood via Rivelin just after, and Rivelin Valley Road was passable but under water. A lorry came past going like the clappers the other way and threw a huge wave over my car, complete with sticks, stones and other debris.

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1922: (7th August)
UNSETTLED & WET.


August 1922 was cool with a marked lack of sunshine. It was particularly wet over the Bank Holiday weekend, particularly on the 6th (Sunday) and 7th (Monday). A low moved very slowly eastward across southern Britain, with a freshening east to northeast wind affecting northern regions. 125mm of rain was recorded at Worksop [Nottinghamshire] over 28hr over these two days, and a 24hr rainfall of 62.2mm was recorded at Weston Park, Sheffield on the 7th (Monday), which at the time was the highest daily total at this station in a record that started in 1883. However, areas sheltered to the easterly flow across northern areas had a reasonable day.

Source

1922?

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15th July 1973, obviously lol

Source

I remember that one. It was the beginning of July. We'd only moved into High Storrs a few days before. Apparently it was a depression that got stuck over south/west Sheffield and dropped a huge load of rain in a very short time. I particularly remember it as I drove over to Wisewood via Rivelin just after, and Rivelin Valley Road was passable but under water. A lorry came past going like the clappers the other way and threw a huge wave over my car, complete with sticks, stones and other debris.

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Regarding the storm of 1923.

My mother was born in October 1923 and she told me her mother had told her of a really bad storm that took place in July time of 1923 when she was 6 months pregnant. She said the sky went really black and it was so bad people thought that the world was coming to an end. People were very afraid and many prayed. I did once come across a mention of it in the local papers when researching something else.

My mother was afraid of storms and when we lived with my grandparents she would hide herself and me behind the living room door while my grandmother would sit facing the window in her armchair, a cigarette in her hand staring out of the window, as if daring the lightening to strike her. Needless to say, that according to superstitions of the time, the mirror was covered over, scissors and any knives etc. were hidden away so as not to encourage any lightening strikes.

Lyn

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With the Great Flood reaching its 150th anniversary, I was asked the other day about a Storm in August 1923 that hit Sheffield, it is mentioned in Hansard but I find it impossible to copy & paste the link for some reason. Has anyone else heard of this event?

Perhaps this is the one, mentioned in "More of Mayfield Valley"? According to the article it was the 15th July 1923, St Swithun's day!

The headline in the Telegraph was "Sheffield's Night of Terror".

"Up at Fulwood Head - this land is approximately 1,100 ft above sea level - the day dawned like no other I've ever experienced in that normally fresh and invigorating countryside... it was as though one werre breathing through a wet blanket.The sky was dull and overcast. Everyone soon noticed that there was something peculiar about the day. The mugginess increased and the stone and iron about the place was bedewed with moisture, also there was the strange behaviour of the animals. The milking cows were turned out after milking but...they were restless and rather noisy. Poultry was acting queerly, and the dogs gave every sign of apprehension..

Everybody and everything was confused that day. I overheard remarks that something would have to bust before long. The first definite sign was the awesome sight from the high land near the quarry. We were ringed by an enormous blue-black bank of cloud... and much worse were the vivid flashes of lightning making a lattice pattern; but no thunder.

Tea was over, the milking done, ...but everyone seemed loth to go far away from the house.

Meanwhile it was getting progressively darker and the circling bank of storm clouds gathering to a point overhead. What was so strange was the changing pattern and colours of light - for five minutes it was of a yellow tinge, then purple, followed by pink and all sorts of shades. It was most uncanny and felt by man and beast.

The flashes of lightning were much nearer but still no thunder could be heard. No rain fell and the atmosphere grew more and more oppressive.

...A pall of purple darkness enveloped the farm but the gloom was riven by flash after flash of most brilliant lightning. It was tremendous. Everyone gathered in the parlour, huddled together, wondering what was going to happen next. There was a bitter sulphurous smell and the room was continually lit by the flashes.

Suddenly there was a most tremendous clap of thunder and the rain came down. It was an appalling deluge but in spite of the shattering noise and the terrible lightning there was a feeling of relief - the rain made it seem moree natural.

About 10.30 there was a sudden cessation of the tumult of the storm and we took the opportunity, with the help of hurricane lamps, of finding out what damage had been done.. To our surprise all seemed to be well.

By 11.30 ... everyone was in bed prepared to be up at first light. ...Hardly had we settled in when all hell broke loose again. We had opened the casement windows - they had been shut during the first storm - and suddenly Joe yelled that the rain was pouring in on to the bed, yet neither of us fancied the job of closing them with lightning playing on the window bars and even on the brass rails of the bed. Blue and heliotrope flames seemed to be everywhere. We were terrified and had to endure this renewed trial until about 3.30 am, when the cessation of the pandemonium was almost as unnerving as the storm."

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Sounds as if it may be the one. I was told it was so bad that even grown men were on their knees praying but I took that as a possible exaggeration. May be it was true and the reason my grandmother never feared storms unlike my mother who the story was told to.

Lyn

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